Gengar

PVE Movesets Grades

Quick	Charge	ATK	DEF
Shadow Claw	Shadow Ball	A	C
Shadow Claw	Sludge Bomb	B	A-
Shadow Claw	Dark Pulse*	B	B
Shadow Claw	Focus Blast	B	X
Hex	Sludge Bomb	C	A
Hex	Dark Pulse*	C	A-
Hex	Shadow Ball	A-	B
Sucker Punch	Shadow Ball	A-	X
Sucker Punch	Psychic*	X	B
Hex	Psychic*	X	A
Lick*	Shadow Ball	A	X
Hex	Shadow Punch*	C-	A
Shadow Claw	Shadow Punch*	C	B-
Sucker Punch	Shadow Punch*	X	B

Quick	Charge	ATK	DEF
Shadow Claw	Sludge Wave*	C	X
Hex	Focus Blast	X	X
Hex	Sludge Wave*	X	X
Sucker Punch	Sludge Bomb	C	C
Sucker Punch	Sludge Wave*	X	X
Sucker Punch	Dark Pulse*	C	C
Sucker Punch	Focus Blast	X	X
Lick*	Psychic*	X	C
Lick*	Focus Blast	X	X
Lick*	Sludge Bomb	X	C
Lick*	Shadow Punch*	C	D

PVE Offensive Moves Explanation

• Shadow Claw is a strong attack with decent energy gain. 
• Lick is also a strong attack with less power, but faster energy gain than Shadow Claw. Both perform similar DPS.
• Hex and Sucker Punch are quite close in performance; the main difference is that Hex is resisted by fewer types.
• Shadow Ball is Gengar's best charge move, sharing the same type as its best fast moves.
• Sludge Bomb also has STAB, but its Poison typing lacks synergy with Ghost-type attacks.
• Focus Blast has niche uses vs. Normal-type foes, but overall is an inferior option.
• For Gengar's legacy moves, Sludge Wave has the same problem as Sludge Bomb's lack of type synergy in addition to being a 1 bar move that doesn't complement Gengar's frailty.
• Dark Pulse is generally awful and offers almost no advantages over Shadow Ball.
• Psychic is a good charged move, but it has no utility on Gengar.
• Shadow Punch, Gengar's Community Day move, is too weak to be useful on offense.

PVE Defensive Moves Explanation

• Defending with a Gengar is not advisable due to its very low bulk. That said, Hex hits the hardest and is therefore optimal.
• Shadow Claw has less power and less energy gain than Hex. Don't bother with Sucker Punch.
• Psychic  is a good option and allows Gengar to heavily threaten opposing Machamp.
• Sludge Bomb and Dark Pulse both have 2 bars and are difficult to dodge; the former is benefited by STAB.
• Shadow Ball is powerful and narrowly resisted, but can be seen coming from a mile away.
• Focus Blast and Sludge Wave are unusable; Gengar will not survive to use them. 
• Shadow Punch is great on defense thanks to its low energy cost, STAB, and narrowly avoided typing.

PVE Overview

PVP Movesets Grades

Quick	Charge	ATK
Shadow Claw	Shadow Punch* Shadow Ball	A
Shadow Claw	Shadow Punch* Focus Blast	B

PvP Moveset Explanation

Shadow Claw + Shadow Punch* and Shadow Ball or Focus Blast or Sludge Bomb

Shadow Claw is the superior fast move in both damage output and energy generation. Don't use any other fast move.

Shadow Punch is a charge move limited to Community Day or Elite TMs, but is essential for baiting shields due its low 35 energy cost. Shadow Ball is Gengar's most efficient charge move in terms of Damage Per Energy (DPE), has incredibly high damage output with STAB and Gengar's high ATK stat, and hits most Pokemon for neutral damage. Focus Blast can be chosen as an option to fight against Dark and Normal-type Pokemon meant to counter Gengar, but its high energy cost makes it difficult to access. Sludge Bomb is generally not recommended, but can still be useful in certain formats to threaten Fairy-type Pokemon. 

PvP Rating Explanation

Great League: 3 / 5

Gastly Community Day allows Gengar to perform very similarly to the scary Haunter, with identical movesets (and additional options for Gengar) and similar bulk. High offensive threat and very vulnerable fragility still causes Gengar to demand shields to perform most optimally, with very scary potential to play bait-and-nuke tactics against Pokemon that can't eliminate Gengar quickly. The differences between Haunter and Gengar are minor, though Gengar's slightly higher bulk trades certain matchups for others due to less damage output. 

Ultra League: 4 / 5

The very scary and threatening Haunter-style of play seen in Great League can now be utilized in Ultra League with Gengar. Bait-and-nuke plays can easily deal with a majority of the meta, though this can be risky and Gengar can fall behind if played incorrectly or if shield baiting is unsuccessful. Giratina's high bulk still can give Gengar trouble, with difficulties against Shadow Claw Giratina due to its faster energy generation. As a Ghost-type, Gengar can struggle significantly to fight bulky Psychic-types in this league due to its Poison sub-typing, with considerable losses against Pokemon using Confusion when shields are in play. 

Master League: 1.5 / 5

Gengar has a max CP of 2878, which is considerably less compared to the numerous legendary and pseudo-legendary Pokemon found in this league. Many Pokemon can beat Gengar through superior stats or efficient movesets, which makes Gengar less appealing to use. Mega Gengar when?

Fast Moves

7

Sucker Punch

More Info

Dark

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	EPU	DPS	DPS w/STAB	True DPS
0.70	0.40	11.43		10.00	12.50

10

Hex

More Info

Ghost

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	EPU	DPS	DPS w/STAB	True DPS
1.20	0.20	13.33		8.33	10.42

9

Shadow Claw

More Info

Ghost

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	EPU	DPS	DPS w/STAB	True DPS
0.70	0.25	8.57		12.86	16.07

Elite Fast Moves

5

Lick

More Info

Ghost

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	EPU	DPS	DPS w/STAB	True DPS
0.50	0.30	12.00		10.00	12.50

Charge Moves

140

Focus Blast

1 Energy

More Info

Fighting

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	DPE	DPS	DPS w/STAB	DPE*DPS
3.50	0.50	0.00	1.40	40.00	50.00		56.00

100

Shadow Ball

2 Energy

More Info

Ghost

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	DPE	DPS	DPS w/STAB	DPE*DPS
3.00	0.40	0.00	2.00	33.33	41.67		66.67

80

Sludge Bomb

2 Energy

More Info

Poison

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	DPE	DPS	DPS w/STAB	DPE*DPS
2.30	1.00	0.00	1.60	34.78	43.48		55.65

Elite Charge Moves

110

Sludge Wave

1 Energy

More Info

Poison

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	DPE	DPS	DPS w/STAB	DPE*DPS
3.20	1.00	0.00	1.10	34.38	42.97		37.81

80

Dark Pulse

2 Energy

More Info

Dark

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	DPE	DPS	DPS w/STAB	DPE*DPS
3.00	0.90	0.00	1.60	26.67	33.33		42.67

90

Psychic

2 Energy

More Info

Psychic

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	DPE	DPS	DPS w/STAB	DPE*DPS
2.80	1.30	0.00	1.80	32.14	40.18		57.86

40

Shadow Punch

3 Energy

More Info

Ghost

1.6x Damage	VS
1.6x Damage	VS
.714x Damage	VS
.51x Damage	VS

0.7 secs

CD	DW	EPS	DPE	DPS	DPS w/STAB	DPE*DPS
1.70	0.20	0.00	1.21	23.53	29.41		28.52

Pokemon Type Chart

Vulnerable

	160% damage
	160% damage
	160% damage
	160% damage

Resistant

	39.1% damage
	62.5% damage
	24.4% damage
	62.5% damage
	39.1% damage
	39.1% damage

Raid Boss Catch Rate

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